The best bit of a British summer always arrives late and suddenly everyone you know is texting about a picnic, a park hang or a last-minute barbecue before the season packs itself away.
You do not need a drink in your hand to be part of it, but a good one helps. So here are ten non-alcoholic drinks that hold their own next to anyone’s spritz: great flavour, grown-up packaging and no compromises in sight. They are in no particular order, so pick whatever suits the crowd. Chill them, pack them, and see summer out in style.
YEW
Start here, and yes, we do mean the pickle one. YEW has just launched what it is calling the UK’s first pickle-flavoured sparkling water, and it is exactly the bold, savoury curveball a barbecue was made for. We’re talking briny dill, fresh cucumber and a tangy finish, with no sugar, no sweeteners and zero calories.
The logic behind is clever. As co-founder and chef Jesse Jenkins puts it, “pickle works so well in the kitchen because it cuts through richness, lifts a dish and makes you want another bite”, which is exactly what you want next to something charred off the grill. It arrives in 330ml cans, cold from the cool box, and it is the drink that will get the whole picnic talking. If pickle feels a step too far for some of your crowd, YEW’s fruit flavours (Yuzu Grapefruit, Pink Rhubarb, Green Apple) are there to fall back on, all made to the same no-sugar, super-natural formula.
Around £1.69 a can, from Planet Organic and yewdrink.com, with the range rolling out on Ocado from August.
Lucky Saint, for the beer drinkers
Every barbecue has someone who just wants a cold lager in their hand, and Lucky Saint is the one to hand them. It is an unfiltered 0.5% lager that tastes properly of beer, with none of the thin, apologetic quality that used to define the category. Ice-cold from the cool box, next to something off the grill, it does exactly what a lager is meant to do.
Around £1.20 to £1.30 a bottle, widely stocked at Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, or by the case from luckysaint.co.
Everleaf Forest, for a spritz
When you want something that feels like an occasion, Everleaf is your aperitif. Forest is the pretty one, all soft bitterness and orchard fruit, and it turns a splash of soda and a wedge of orange into a drink that looks and tastes like the real thing. Make a jug of it, drop in plenty of ice, and let it be the centrepiece rather than the afterthought.
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Around £22 for a 50cl bottle, from everleafdrinks.com and Waitrose.
Three Spirit The Livener, for the ones who want a lift
Three Spirit make botanical drinks with a bit of intention behind them, and The Livener is the daytime one: watermelon, ginger and a hit of natural caffeine, blended with adaptogens for a gentle, buzzy sort of energy. Top it with soda for a long drink, or serve it short and cold if you are feeling fancy. It is the closest a non-alc gets to that first-drink-of-the-day feeling.
Around £24.99 for a 50cl bottle, from thespiritco.com and selected stockists.
TRIP, for the park bag
TRIP is the functional can you will actually reach for: light, fruity sparkling drinks with a calm, easy character to them. They are the definition of grab-and-go, so they belong in the bottom of a picnic bag alongside the crisps and the good hummus. Elderflower Mint and Peach Ginger are the ones to look for.
Around £1.50 a can, from Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and drink-trip.com.
Real Kombucha, for the wine-list moment
If your crowd would normally be reaching for a chilled glass of something, Real Kombucha is the grown-up answer. It is fermented, complex and properly dry, served in a bottle that looks the part on a picnic blanket. Royal Flush and Dry Dragon are the sippers here: pour them into a wine glass and nobody will feel like they are missing out.
Around £2.50 a bottle, from realkombucha.co.uk and Waitrose.
Wild Idol, for when there is something to toast
Somebody always has news, and news deserves bubbles. Wild Idol is a genuinely lovely alcohol-free sparkling wine, made from grapes rather than reverse-engineered from a leftover, and the rosé in particular is a proper looker. Keep a bottle cold for the moment the toast happens, because it always happens.
Around £24.99 for a 75cl bottle, from wildidol.com and Selfridges.
Seedlip Garden 108, for the gin drinkers
The one that started the whole movement, and still the easiest way to make a familiar drink for anyone missing their G&T. Seedlip Garden 108 is all peas and herbs and fresh green things: build it tall with tonic, a slice of cucumber and lots of ice, and it is cool, crisp and refreshing without a sugar rush.
Around £22 for a 70cl bottle, from major supermarkets and seedlipdrinks.com.
Dash Water, for the low-key picnic staple
Sometimes you just want a fizzy water that is a bit more interesting, and Dash is the one to keep by the case. It is sparkling water infused with wonky fruit and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste, so it is lightly flavoured, entirely unsweetened and quietly doing a good thing. Raspberry and Lemon are the crowd-pleasers.
Around £1.25 a can, from most supermarkets and dash-water.com.
Mother Root, for a bit of spice
For anyone who wants a kick, Mother Root is a ginger switchel: fiery, tangy and cut through with apple cider vinegar, the drink for anyone who finds sweet sodas a bit much. A little goes a long way, so top it with soda over plenty of ice for a long drink with real backbone. It is the grown-up palate-waker of the bunch.
Around £18 for a 50cl bottle, from mother-root.com and selected delis.
That is your end-of-summer line-up sorted, whatever the group wants in their glass.
See you in the park,
Nonchalant x
Your next read: The Date Edit: North London – alcohol free edition
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This article was written by one of our creative team writers here at Nonchalant Magazine.
